Category: Dodgers Opinions

Today is the first day that all Dodgers players are to report to camp. All players have reported, with the exception of Andrew Toles. The team told reporters this morning that he was dealing with a personal issue, has been in contact with the team, and has the team’s full support. We’re hoping whatever it is, Tolesy will be back with the team soon, and that everything is all right.

Andy McCullough from The Los Angeles Times put out an excellent article this morning that focused on Justin Turner and how he has dealt with the last two off-seasons, particularly with the back to back World Series losses. JT talks a lot about last season, and that the team definitely suffered a hangover from the 2017 season.

One of the most interesting tidbits to me is how Turner talks about all the platooning the Dodgers did last year.

“There was all this noise about the platoons,” Turner said. “We won the division. We went to the World Series. You can’t say that it didn’t work. Because we lost in the World Series, people were saying ‘Oh, it’s because you platooned.’ What? How did we get there?That was our identity last year. That’s not an organizational philosophy. It’s just what we had to do to adapt to survive.”

We all know how last year was the antithesis of 2017, even if the outcome of the season was the same. The Dodgers stumbled out of gates, fell flat on their faces, dealt with way too many injuries to too many important players, and had to take the season to 163 games just to win the division.

I’m going to propose something radical, so stay with me here—what if the last two seasons are what the Dodgers need to finally win the World Series?

Andy, you’re nuts, you say. Why on earth would that be true? Well, let’s talk about it. Much has been made, rightly or wrongly so, about what the front office has or hasn’t done to make this team a world championship caliber team. The last two years would point to the fact that they’ve done their job. They put a team on the field that made it to back-to-back World Series.

Much also has been made about manager Dave Roberts, and if he is a good enough manager to lead a team to a world championship. What Roberts has had to deal with in his three previous seasons in Los Angeles would be tough for any manager. Big city, big scrutiny of a historic team with some of this generation’s best players. An incredible losing skid in 2017 where everyone doubted the team. And then last season, keeping all those egos and personalities working and playing together as a unit, when the whole year was a complete slog, and not many players saw their typical day to day roles of years past.

So, basically, the front office and the manger did their jobs. (Save your pitching decision comments for another day). Who didn’t produce when the time came? The players. In 2017, the Dodgers made every game close, and fought and fought, until Game 7, when they didn’t. In 2018, maybe it was too much to deal with during the season, but the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position was still there, and even though the Boston Red Sox were a buzzsaw, as Turner put it, there really wasn’t too much fight in the World Series either.

Having endured all of that, the players now know exactly what it takes to win a World Series. Some circumstances were out of their control, but they’ve experienced two different teams celebrating World Series wins on their home field. They know what an offseason is like after having gone that deep into the playoffs. The pain now only runs hotter and deeper, and it’s time for the players themselves to step up and get it done.

“Do we believe we’re a good team? Absolutely. Every guy in here, to a man, thinks we’re a really, really good team, and have a chance to do something special. At the same time, that doesn’t count for a run. You don’t score runs because you’re supposed to be good. You still have to figure out ways to score runs and throw strikes and play defense. That’s what we have to do.”

We’re down to two days left of this boring, non-transactional offseason. Two days left before pitchers and catchers put on those gorgeous Dodger Blue jerseys and report to Camelback Ranch in Arizona. Two days left of winter.

If you’re a longtime reader of this site, you’ll know that we’ve been talking about reliever Joe Broussard from his early days at Double-A Tulsa. In effect, so much time has passed that the 28-year-old righty is beyond his days as a prospect; yet, he still hasn’t risen to the call of pitching at the big league level.

As the spring training reporting dates for players are drawing ever so near, there haven’t been a typically high number of story lines surrounding the Dodgers, aside from a few light whispers about a long-shot trade or a free agent signing. Many people don’t expect much to happen during the time between the first squad workout and the Cactus League opener against the White Sox on February 23; however, we made a list of five things to look for during the early days of camp, which could impact the landscape of the squad come Opening Day.

In addition to hot stove talk and reruns of old games, MLB Network fills its offseason programming with Top Ten rankings of position players and pitchers. Most recently, it revealed its 10 best starting pitchers. Clayton Kershaw came in at number 10 on the list, and he was chosen as one the best pitchers of the last decade.

Happy February everyone! We’ve finally made it to the month where there are some signs of baseball life again. Dodgers pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks, and I don’t know about you, but this has seemed like the longest off-season in awhile.

Even if the Dodgers are finished making any significant roster moves for the winter, it’s safe to say that things have indeed turned out quite well for the team, at least as far as player personnel goes.